Deutch tells Clinton he hopes she returns to public service, extends welcome to Florida

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, told Hillary Clinton this afternoon that he hopes her final hearing as Secretary of State doesn’t mark the end of her career in public service.

Clinton appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee this afternoon after testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the morning about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others.

Clinton faced criticism from Republicans and friendly questioning from Democrats on both panels.

“I’d like to thank you for the truly remarkable job that you’ve done as Secretary of State,” Deutch told Clinton at the beginning of his questioning. “You have represented the interests of this nation magnificently and I for one hope that after a bit of rest you will consider a return to public service and should that return bring you to Florida I will look forward to welcoming you there.”

Deutch was a major supporter of Clinton during the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries.